The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to pusher-type diverters.
Article diverters, such as shoe sorters, are used to translate articles across the width of a conveyor as the conveyor transports the articles in a conveying direction. Typical shoe sorters include shoes, or pushers, that are driven laterally across the conveyor to push articles off one or both sides of the conveyor to one or more outfeed locations. In other article-diverting conveyors, the laterally driven pushers can be used to merge articles to the center of the conveyor and into alignment. Slat conveyors and modular conveyor belts are used as platforms for the pushers, which ride in tracks extending across the widths of the slats or belt modules. The pushers have depending structural elements that keep the pushers in the track or extend below to engage carryway guides that control the lateral positions of the pushers. The pushers are often ramped or have concavely curved lower skirts up which articles can ride when contacted by the pushers as they are driven along the track. In some cases the articles can ride up and over the pushers and not be aligned as required.